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Ok, so it's not made 100 percent from pantry staples, but if you've got a jar of Thai curry paste in your fridge (and you should—the stuff lasts forever!), some chicken or vegetable stock on the shelves, and a box of noodles, then a hearty, fresh, filling, and tasty dinner is just a chicken breast and a few herbs away.

The soup is not traditional by any means, but jarred Thai red curry paste shares many flavors in common with traditional tom yum soup—the lemongrass, chilies, and galangal, for instance—so it makes a pretty good substitute for the real deal. I start by frying the paste in a bit of oil to help bloom and deepen its flavors, then whisk in some canned broth, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice, along with a couple small pieces of chicken breast. In the time the chicken takes to cook through, you can cook noodles in a separate pot.

Noodles in a bowl, broth poured on top, chicken shredded and added to the soup, a handful of cilantro, mint, and/or basil, some scallions or onion, and an extra lime wedge to serve. It's not quite as fast as instant ramen, but with its balanced flavors of hot, sour, salty, and sweet, it's a heck of a lot tastier.

J. Kenji López-Alt is the Managing Culinary Director of Serious Eats, and author of the James Beard Award-nominated column The Food Lab, where he unravels the science of home cooking. A restaurant-trained chef and former Editor at Cook's Illustrated magazine, his first book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science is a New York Times Best-Seller, the recipient of a James Beard Award, and was named Cookbook of the Year in 2015 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals.

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